By Sandra Gonzales
Mercury News
Posted: 06/17/2009 08:33:57 PM PDT
Updated: 06/17/2009 09:52:42 PM PDT
In a highly critical report Wednesday accusing the Santa Clara Valley Water District of overspending and poor financial management, a civil grand jury found that the agency lacks oversight, transparency and accountability.
"Given the pervasive nature of the lax attitude toward any kind of fiscal control, it will take much more time and leadership from the board of directors to make the needed impact on capital and operational spending," the report states.
The Santa Clara County civil grand jury report titled "Santa Clara Valley Water District Awash in Cash as County and Cities Drown in Red Ink," noted that previous audits, statewide reports and grand jury investigations pointed to "spending and ethics abuses by the district over many years." The report further stated, "the district has been questioned on its spending for years and has made little to no effort to become cost effective."
As a result, the grand jury called for more openness, an independent review committee to oversee the board, a 15-year-master plan on future spending and term limits for the board of directors. Earlier this spring, directors voted to place a term-limit measure on the November 2010 ballot.
"We accept the report in the spirit it's provided, but it's not unusual for a civil grand jury to look for more negatives," said Sig Sanchez, chairman of the water board. "There are some areas where if they had gone into more depth, the recommendations may have been a little different." He hopes to have a formal response in one month.
Wednesday's report comes amid a summer drought and several years of controversies over the district's spending habits, including approving salaries to its managers higher than those at most other California water agencies.
"There's been a lack of oversight and they have gone beyond their scope of work," said Don Kawashima, grand jury foreman. "We hope they look at their expenses and what they are spending."
Last month, Beau Goldie was named as the new CEO of the district, which has a $358 million annual budget funded mostly by water charges and property taxes.
"It's difficult to receive criticism, but I welcome it," Goldie said. He pointed out that $24 million has been cut from the next fiscal budget, in part, by delaying projects, reducing the district's fleet of vehicles and by eliminating 29 positions, though none by layoffs. In addition, he noted that the district did not raise groundwater production charges this year.
"We're moving in that direction," Goldie said, referring to a continuous effort to cut costs. "We're not done and we're making sure our dollars are spent efficiently and effectively."
The four-part report also made the following allegations:
# The district overspent on its new drinking water quality lab. The final cost was $13 million over the original $8.1 million estimate and only 18 employees occupy the 18,400-square-foot building:
# The Alviso Slough restoration project is not appropriate for the district because it does not improve watersheds, streams and natural resources, and the district should cease funding it and look at other, more obvious potential flood-damage areas first.
# The proposed $1.38 million Gold Street Education Center, a large open gazebo where children can learn the history of Alviso, is a poor use of the district's funds and no more should be spent.
One of the largest local government agencies in Silicon Valley, the 750-employee water district provides drinking water and flood protection to 1.8 million people in Santa Clara County. As the primary water wholesaler in the county, it sells water to 13 retail water providers such as the San Jose Water Co., and cities from Los Altos to Gilroy, which in turn deliver it to customers.
Earlier this spring, the district's board members called for 15 percent mandatory water conservation this summer — the first since the end of the last drought in 1991.
The report also criticized the district's campaign for the 15-year special parcel tax, which voters narrowly passed in 2000 for its Clean Safe Creeks and Flood Protection Plan. In 2004, the Fair Political Practices Commission fined the district and its treasurers, Susan A. Pino and Rick L. Callender, $24,000 for failing to disclose $190,000 in contributions for that campaign in a timely way.
In a positive note, the report noted that reductions in the last fiscal budget made by previous interim CEO Olga Martin Steele were "a step in the right direction." In the past fiscal year, the district slashed $11 million from its budget by cutting 28 staff positions, reducing travel, and reducing overtime in half.
Contact Sandra Gonzales at sgonzales@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5778.
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12615596?source=most_emailed
No comments:
Post a Comment